1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a photosensitive material is subjected to chemical processings in a step-by-step manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has conventionally been proposed an image forming apparatus in which a photosensitive material, on which an exposed image is formed by heating, is subjected to development processing in such a manner that the photosensitive material, to which a liquid is applied by an applying device, is wound onto a heating drum and a processing sheet is superposed on the photosensitive material. Light transmitted through a dye image of the photosensitive material is digitally read by a CCD sensor of a reading section 50 (see FIG. 5) and is stored. Thereafter, silver contained in the photosensitive material is recovered by a desilvering device 52. The photosensitive material and the processing sheet, which are described above, are shown in detail in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 9-258402, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Laid-Open (JP-A) No 11-84609.
The present inventors have examined as to whether a development reaction and a fixing reaction can proceed concurrently in such an image forming apparatus.
When two processing sections for a development reaction and a fixing reaction are provided, as shown in FIG. 5, a heating drum 56 used for the development reaction and a heating drum 58 used for the fixing reaction are required.
Applying devices 60 and 62 which are each used to apply a required solvent to a film N, a development processing sheet 64 on which a layer of mordant for development of the film N is formed, and a fixing processing sheet 66 on which a layer of mordant for fixing processing of the film N is formed must be provided in such a manner that the heating drum 56, the applying device 60, and the fixing processing sheet 64 form a set for development, and the heating drum 58, the applying device 62, and the fixing processing sheet 66 form a set for fixing.
However, there is the problem that, if the number of processings increases, an additional set must be added for each additional processing, and therefore, the image forming apparatus is made larger.
Further, in the applying device 62 at the downstream side in a direction in which the film N is conveyed, the problem of turbidity arises due to water-soluble substances adhering to the film N dissolving in the liquid filled in the applying device 62. As a result, the material formulations of the development processing sheet 64 which can be used are restricted considerably. Accordingly, there may be considered a method in which the film N is dried before the film N reaches the applying device 62. However, in this case, the mechanism of the apparatus becomes more complicated, which is not practical.
Moreover, when the film N is conveyed from the heating drum 56 to the heating drum 58 via conveying roller pairs 68 and 70, a state in which the film N is not conveyed uniformly arises, and therefore, uniform development processing cannot be achieved.